Sean O'Driscoll's focus is firmly on Bristol City ahead of clash with Nottingham Forest

BRISTOL City boss Sean O'Driscoll is refusing to become emotionally involved in the extraordinary events that have taken place at Nottingham Forest this week.

Controversially sacked by Forest after beating Leeds United 4-2 in a Championship game at Christmas, O'Driscoll has since been appointed head coach at Ashton Gate.

Meanwhile, Alex McLeish, the man who succeeded him as Forest manager, has lost his job and been replaced by Billy Davies. But O'Driscoll insists the showdown between City and Forest at Ashton Gate tomorrow is just another game.

Keen to play down talk of revenge, the Midlander told The Post: "It is just another game and it has to be that way given the position we are in.

"I cannot get emotionally involved in what has gone on at Nottingham Forest in the past.

"If I'm honest, I have enough problems getting my own team ready for Saturday. How can I be more worried about Forest than I am my team?"

Davies is Forest's fourth manager in seven months since the Al-Hasawi family took up ownership of the Midlands club and O'Driscoll admitted: "Nothing surprises me in football anymore. Football is like a bubble and, in many ways, it is detached from the rest of life."

Having fallen victim to Forest's need for instant success, O'Driscoll is now engaged on a long-term project to restore City as a force.

He said: "Winning football matches is the conundrum everybody has to solve. The only certainty in English football is that you will lose matches. But you cannot, whenever you lose a football match, tear up the paper and start again with something else.

"You have to say 'this is the way we have to build, this is the way we have to do things' and try to be as consistent as you can.

"The biggest thing missing in a lot of clubs is the ability to communicate that to everybody.

"Football people say 'well, that's what I believe in and that's the way I'm going to do it' whereas they should be asking 'what is it this club needs at this moment in time'? What most clubs need is stability, organisation and a little bit of direction."

O'Driscoll said he is looking to strengthen an injury-hit squad after the loan window reopens today, but there will not be any new arrivals ahead of the weekend.

Midfielders Cole Skuse and Neil Kilkenny and striker Ryan Taylor are already ruled out, while experienced centre-back Louis Carey is struggling to overcome a knee problem and may also sit out a game that could prove pivotal in City's continuing fight against relegation.

O'Driscoll said: "We're losing key players. Louis Carey, Cole Skuse, Neil Kilkenny and Ryan Taylor are the spine of the team and the difficulty is in trying to replace them.

"I need people in certain positions and you don't ever stop looking for players, but it is a matter of getting players that fit in rather than ones that just take up space.

" Loans are something we have to look at and it often comes down to being in the right place at the right time. There are good players out there, but they are not always available. The criteria for me has always been getting players who are going to improve you and fit in rather than players who just make up the numbers."